Quote: (08-26-2017 10:42 AM)Blaster Wrote:
Buddhism and Taoism I think go further into meditation, detachment and letting go of all desires. That works as far as bitterness and resentment goes, but not all desires are bad.
They identify that desires lead to suffering. There are different levels of desire; basic living needs (food, shelter), sex, ego fulfillment, companionship, and higher desires like spiritual enlightenment. On a philosophical level, the desire for something is proof of its lack.
So it's not about desires being "good" or "bad" but seen more as roadblocks to deeper, inner happiness. The paradox is that deeper happiness does not come from desiring it, which is a contradiction to a classically Western concept: we desire something, we work for it, we attain it. That's our Western mindset.
The deeper happiness I mention is attained by desiring nothingness, of embracing the void. It's nearly impossible to discuss this if you haven't experienced it, and meditation is the only way I know to experience it.